Robot+Butterfly

📷 Picture this: the future, not too far off. Everything’s a mess, but nature’s had a comeback, continuing on without us. 🌳

A54, a little robot 🤖, wakes up in a crumbling shopping mall, now unrecognizable thanks to gigantic roots taking over. Powered by sunlight ☀️, this adorable robot navigates through a strange new world, guided only by an insistent beep and GPS 📍 directions on a slowly-revealing map. But there’s a catch – could this cute robot, learning to communicate with animals, actually doom the last remnants of humanity? (Of course, we’re not gonna beat around the bush here.)

So, why this project? 💁🏽

Well, in the age of technological singularity, we have to wonder if the worst-case scenario is what some AIs are really thinking. What if destroying humanity is the only way to save it? It sounds absurd, but who didn’t get a little thrill when Thanos snapped his fingers in Infinity War? 🤷🏽

This game explores the best and worst of humanity, using deep learning, animal communication, and mind–bending twists to draw players in. Plus, who doesn’t want to hug their Roomba? 🫶🏽

Keeping things simple, this game tackles a bunch of pressing questions 💡. Can technology or ecology provide the answers we need? Will a quantum computer analyzing all our data come up with a miracle solution? 🔑 We’re not so sure, but we do know that curiosity, learning, and openness are the keys to keep moving forward. And fiction, exploring other worlds, is the best way to spark conversations and connections between people. 💡

Let’s talk about A54, our main character 🤖. This little robot starts off with limited abilities and a dodgy memory 🪫. But as players progress, they’ll uncover the robot’s true mission – a horrifying task assigned by humanity itself. To escape the collapsing building, players will need the help of local birds, but what if miscommunication leads to disastrous consequences? 👁️‍🗨️

Welcome to our world, filled with a rich array of evolved animals. Sporting designs that are both familiar and original, these creatures have their own unique language 🧏🏽 that A54 learns throughout the game. Players will empathize 🫶🏼 with these animals, communicate with them, and either calm or exploit their anger. How you interact with the ecosystem is entirely up to you. 📈

As for the inspiration behind the game, it came from reading scientific articles about AI, humanity’s stupidity, and Ray Bradbury books. The goal was to create a video game that instills hope and questions our human-centric view of the world.

How can we learn more and find empathy through an enjoyable game? 🎮

This AA game project, featuring photorealistic graphics, is co-created with Allison Crank 🧠, with art direction by Thomas Dubois ✏️. The writing is complete, and we’re looking now to move on to prototyping.

Robot+Butterfly 🦋 received the support of the CNC and Cinéforom in the development, and we were lucky enough to pitch at Giff and Annecy. Thank you for being so supportive 🧡

In development with the lovely people at WOWL. ◼️